Oklahoma District Attorney Bill Peterson to retire
Nov 06, 2007
After 28 years as district attorney, William N. “Bill” Peterson, is retiring. The DA for the 22nd district of Oklahoma, which includes Pontotoc, Seminole and Hughes counties, announced Friday afternoon he plans to retire Jan. 1, 2008.
“It is something I’ve been thinking about for a while and came to the conclusion that it is time,” he said. “I am 64 years old and came to the realization it’s time to go to another phase in my life.”
Peterson said he and his wife, Dean, plan to travel and spend more time with their grandchildren. Their oldest grandchild is 8 and involved in various sports. “If the others are as active as the oldest, we are going to be very busy,” Peterson said.
During Peterson’s career several high profile murder cases have been tried. One gained national media attention in 1999 when DNA testing exonerated two men imprisoned for the 1982 brutal murder of Debra Sue Carter in Ada. Peterson received harsh criticism for his role in prosecuting Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson for Carter’s murder.
Peterson said controversy surrounding John Grisham’s book, “The Innocent Man,” was only one of many things he and his wife considered when discussing retirement. “I would be lying if I said that it didn’t,” he said. However, Peterson stressed it wasn’t a major factor in his decision to retire.
Grisham presented Peterson in a less than favorable light in his first non-fiction book, “The Innocent Man,” published in 2006.
The book was based on Ron Williamson’s life and events surrounding the trial that sent him to prison for Carter’s murder. Peterson and former Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation agent Gary Rogers have filed a lawsuit against Grisham and Doubleday Dell Publishing Group in Federal Court for libel and slander.
“I have always sought to seek the truth in charging of crimes and was willing to endure the consequences of those decisions. The job of a prosecutor is to make a charging decision based on provable facts of any case and to do what is right.”
“After 28 years as a prosecutor it is time to pass this responsibility to someone else,” he said.
Source: AdaEveningNews.com
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Comments
Peterson SHOULD retire… directly to the very same Death Row he has railroaded others to. Maybe his cellmates should be the crooked cops who started the process of framing Fritz/Williamson. I will never look at a cop or a prosecutor in the same way again…they are not to be trusted. They will kill you legally if they can.
Yes,even in my home land:Nigeria,I can never trust the Police cause they lie and kill innocent people,the families of this people nevr get justice.So many cases of extrajudicial killing gone unnoticed.I can never,never,ever,trust the Nigerian Police and it’s judicial system.
Good ridance to an empty suit of a human being. John Grishom did the world a favor by exposing this buffoon.
Peterson should be charged for sending 2 innocent men to jail.He should have to live and die on death row. But first he should have to pay retribution to them from his own monies.
Mon anglais est trop mauvais et je prends la liberté de vous adresser ce message en français.
Merci de votre compréhension.
Je viens de lire “L’accusé” titre français pour “The Innocent man”.
J’ai lu nombre de vos livres et je les ai toujours énormément appréciés. Mais The Innocent man est évidemment à part car on n’est plus dans la fiction
The Innocent man m’a bouleversé et aussi terrifié. Je vous félicite de tout coeur de l’avoir écrit et aussi de vous être engagé personnellement aux côtés de Dennis Fritz.
On ne peut imaginer que dans un Etat de droit des hommes tels que le procureur Peterson aient pu conserver leur fonction après que leur forfaiture ait été révélée.
Quel long chemin que celui de la justice … merci et bravo pour votre combat.
Robert Duquenne
Absolutely shocked at the horrible behavior of this man! Why isn’t he standing trial for railroading 2 innocent men and robbing them of years of their lives. He should go to jail, see how THAT feels. I hope he has no rest in his retirement.
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Dear Mr Grisham,
Thank you so much for exposing the truth about the fabricated convictions of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz in your book “The Innocent Man”. It is a fascinating book to read and frankly, very scary, for if a small town American cannot expect reasonable justice and a search for the truth “beyond reasonable doubt” in his murder trial in such a liberated country as the USA, where are we going in the world, and what hope is there for our children in the future?
No wonder you support the “Innocence Project” and your book will no doubt cause other questions to be asked. But you also speak of the other two men, Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot, wrongfully convicted for the murder of Denice Haraway – can nothing be done to reopen their case and hold a fair trial the second time around , now that you have done so much research on their case also?
Either way, I find it disgraceful that the DA at the time, Mr Peterson, could not even utter an apology at the second trial of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz, first to the Stillwell and Carter families, and second to the defendants and their families, for all the suffering and heartbreak he was responsible for causing them all, in the name of his misguided sense of justice.
In France one is “guilty until proven innocent” according to the Napoleonic code, but in the UK and the USA, one is “innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt”, and in the cases you mention in your book, it is difficult to understand that neither the Judges or Jury could see that there was only circumstantial evidence at best with which they should decide to sentence the defendants to death or life imprisonment.
After reading your book how can any of the prosecution or Judges and Jury sleep at night, after sending innocent men to prison?
Good luck with your research and to the Innocence Project for future retrials and exonerations. Finally, let us not forget the murdered girls, and may their souls rest in peace.
Robin P., UK
Perhaps one day science can prove Peterson’s DNA is consistent of an individual with a flawed, attention getting ego.
After reviewing John Grisham’s “circumstantial” evidence with respect to DA Bill Peterson’s past practices and actions,
To the charges of:
Liar…Guilty
Conniving….Guilty
Cheater….Guilty
Scumbag…..Guilty
Egomaniac….Guilty
Humility….Not Proven
Competent District Attorney…Not Proven
Good riddance, enjoy the rest of your miserable life.
I just read the book, Innocent Man, I am truly shocked this could happen here in the United States. Not only the injustice but the horrible treatment of a mentally ill person. I want to know how Mr. Peterson lives with what he has done.
I’ve just read both “The Innocent Man” and Bill Peterson’s evidence-based reply on his website. I’m shocked and disgusted at John Grisham’s poor, cavalier attitude to research.
I also question whether any of the above folks who have left comments have bothered to read Peterson’s response. I think not – shame on you then for presuming guilt based on Grisham’s word only! Read now: www.billpetersondistrictattorney.com
Yes, I know I’m wasting my time leaving this comment since there is little to no chance of publication but, I’ll allow for the fact that I could be misjudging you.
John McCrosson
Scottish expat in Thailand
I wonder if Bill Peterson ever remains awake at night wondering if his loved ones (for example, his oldest grandchild) will be the beneficiary of opportunity and fair treatment during their lifetime.
I’ve been reading the book on ‘The Innocent Man’ by John Grisham….its really amazing to see how corrupted cops and attorney’s are sometimes…maybe its because they want to solve the puzzle real quick by choosing any convicts around that already had done time in prison…..and to Mr.Peterson, why don’t you jump of a bridge with all your scums of rotten cops working with you….and all those snitches who you though could pull up some strings which they failed….whatever we do or whoever we suspect or convict, and no matter how corrupted some people are, THE TRUTH WILL PREVAIL AND JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED….God Help Us All
After I read an innocent man, I was shocked at how a prosecutor can distort the truth..I have just completed Dennis Fritz’s book, “Journey Toward Justice” and am overwhelmed and outraged at how Mr Peterson went after Ron Williams and Dennis Fritz, all for the sake of closing a case. What a shameful travesty of Justice and a terrible loss for the wrongfully convicted.
I have been an avid reader about history and the criminal justice system. I have never read anything as appalling as “The Innocent Man”. I then decided to Google the topic and got extremely MAD! How in Hell does this happen. I have seen injustice and read about it but………………..
I hope Peterson has a hard time sleeping at night and that the good people of Oklahoma will not let him alone. Who did he think he was?
Bill Peterson deserves everything that was done to Ron Williamson. May God have mercy on his dark and arrogant soul.
I just read “The Innocent Man.” To Bill Peterson: Don’t you know that there is a
God, and he’s not blind? I have seen the wicked such as yourself suffer the wrath of God, and I’m confident that you have no peace in your life. Your death will be very long and painful. you will suffer unspeakable pain long before death and while dying. Mark my words wicked man for you will see them come to past.
@John McCrosson – its a fair call that one should look at both sides of the story before forming an opinion. However, having perused Bill Peterson’s site in detail (http://www.billpetersondistrictattorney.com/) I can see little to suggest that Mr Grisham has been loose with the truth or unfairly biased towards Peterson. The book was quite clear that Peterson was the one that initiated the DNA testing and that the DA’s office did pursue Gore.
The only point from the WSJ’s critical review of ‘The Innocent Man’ (which Peterson qutie antagonistiaclly sent to Grisham before he’d even read the book) was that Grisham failed to mention that Williamson confessed to having ‘gotten away with’ one of the rapes for which he was charged. That seemed like a significant omission and did give initially me pause as it suggested anti-death penalty polecism rather than an objective approach to the case. However, I came to realise that the book is about an unjust conviction and not about Williamson’s good character or lack thereof. Rather than trying to minimise his mistake by smearing Williamson (by posting a review which makes such claims), it would reflect better on Peterson if he actually apologised to the guy and showed some contrition for locking him up.
In any case, the book is not generally biased towards Williamson – often it presents him as an weak, immature, rather pathetic individual who failed to achieve his potential and began to slide into mental instability as a result. As the book shows, he was increasingly out of touch of reality during the trial process and it is not difficult to imagine him making false and paranoid claims, so it might not even be true that he got away with rape.
In short, I do think on the whole that Grisham should have publicised the fact that Williamson confessed to rape to present a more objective view of his character. However its omission does not substantially detract from the convincingness of the book in indicting Bill Peterson’s own character and actions. As Peterson seems able only to sling more mud in an attempt to refute these claims, it is hard not to conclude that he has been involved in some shocking miscarriages of justice during his tenure at the DA’s office.
Passing on the responsibility of DA must be the hardest thing Mr. Peterson has ever done. To bad he didn’t pass it on before he altered the lives of Mr. Williamson and Mr. Fritz. But then giving up power to control and bend lives is a heady thing for a small and petty man. To wish him ill is fruitless at this point. Let’s just hope his Maker looks kindly on him when his time comes.
I live in Pontotoc county, Oklahoma and
believe me, what you read in that book, it was and is much worse here than you can possibly imagine. These people are corrupt and evil to the bone, with no sense of justice or honor. Ive never seen anything like it in my life nor would I have believed it possible when I first moved here. This corruption exists from the highest to the lowest. Sorry but I dont wish these people to stand well with God. I hope God brings down his wrath on them. Deaf, mute and blind would be justice.
Just read The Innocent Man and am so appalled that injustice such as this has happened in the U.S.A. Unfortunately, it happens all too often in small towns across this great country of ours. It is usally because of giant ego’s of Da.s, policemen,and revenge of same. We need strong laws to actually prosecute and jail these offenders because they are criminals. In most of these cases, they have purgered themselves, manufactured evidence, ignored witnesses and alabi’s and the list continues. To the average citizen, this kind of behavior if beyond frightning, because it infers it can happen to me. Thank God for the innocence project. we need more of them…
I recently read Grisham’s book and was sickened by it.Peterson on his websit declares Grisham’s work to be fiction.There is no doubt at all that Grisham’s work is non-fiction.He was more than kind to Bill Peterson.Two innocent men were convicted mainly on the unsworn testimony of the true murderer combined with unreliable scientific evidence.A good DA would have recognised the flaws instead of arrogantly pursuing a malicious prosecution.Peterson should consider himself very lucky that he survived so long in the privileged and lucrative post of DA.
I wish him a very long but unhappy retirement may each and every day be as troublesome to him as all those sickening days spent in prison by the two innocents Williamson and Fritz. Peterson is now in the Lords waiting room. Let his stay there be long and may everyday bring thoughts of Dennis Williamson.
The people of Oklahoma should feel very proud(sic) that they condoned the actions of
Peterson by allowing him to stay in office paid by them from their tax dollars for so long.
In God We Trust
If people would take the time to read cases in the very counties they live in and take part in the trial process they would find that more often than they could ever imagine inocent people are convicted of crimes. Large cities are no eceptions. Please keep in mind DAs are promotted and give pay incentives based on the conviction rate. At no time are members of any DA office offered pay raises for doing the next best thing.
The story of Denice Fritz and Ron Williams is lived out by thousands of people every year in our courts, jails and penats. The DOC of each State is paid to maintain and house inmates. But what most people may not know is that Inmates are forced to pay for the luxury of being jailed. Yes, in some States they must pay a fee of $1 to $3 per day they are in jail. That money is taken from the inmates commissary accounts. They then are allowed to buy over priced food that they use to have some kind of joy.
Do not think for one minute you are out of the reach of the long arm of the law each of you can fall into the tangle web and once in you may find yourself forever in is grip.
Just finished the book. I am mad and sick about the fact that Bill Peterson has never felt bad about what he did to those men. His wife must be just as arrogant and unfeeling as he is. She’s proud to be Mrs. Bill Peterson. I hope the rest of your family is ashamed to be associated with your sorry —-. I would be. If you were my grandfather I woud deny it forever.
Like Debra I just finished the book. Peterson out Nifonged Nifong in his idiocy, pursuing Fritz and Williamson while ignoring the actual killer Glen Gore for almost a decade!
He can spend his retirement contemplating The Dreams of Ada by Robert Mayer which preceded Grisham in exposing this blockhead.